Labour didn't do badly but Ed Miliband still needs to get his act together

Labour won many more new council seats than its target of 200. Above, party leader Ed Miliband on the local election campaign trail in Nottinghamshire, 1 May 2013. Photograph: Rui Vieira/PA

The media are hyperventilating about Ukip, including the Guardian, with its hype about the party's performance in the South Shields byelection (Labour holds off Ukip surge, 3 May). The BBC, in particular, seems insistent on telling us that Labour did very badly. Rubbish. Labour's target was to win 200 more council seats, it won nearly 300. It won both mayoral elections and did well in numerous marginal constituencies which they will be looking to gain in 2015. It did considerably better than the pre-election opinion poll of council areas being fought suggested.

Forget about World at One interviews and the views of the incestuous Westminster village – Ed Miliband should continue with his "pallet strategy", getting out of London, meeting ordinary voters and addressing the frustration and alienation that led to some people voting for Ukip (and considerably more people not voting at all). And be bold!John BournGateshead

• Jonathan Freedland (Comment, 4 May) suggests that much of the Ukip vote is the result of "a nostalgic desire to … turn the clock back to a gentler past". Well, I yearn for the days when there was no privatisation of the NHS, when genuine comprehensive education was an ideal, when welfare was not a dirty word and when the very wealthy did not receive tax cuts. So if Labour sticks to its old core beliefs, I'll have no problem voting for that "imagined gentler past". And while commentators whip themselves into a frenzy because one in four voters chose Ukip, over 90% of the electorate did not support them. The other parties should be as concerned about the low voting figures as the showing of a fourth party.Dr Chris MorrisKidderminster, Worcestershire

• The fact that a political party can freely admit to a strategy of acquiring off-the-shelf policies, propose an economic strategy where the sums do not add up and, in the weeks leading up to voting, suffer a series of what for its competitors would be omnishambolic gaffes, yet still gain 25% of the vote indicates that a significant proportion of voters has simply had enough of professional politics and politicians. I for one will thank Nigel Farage and his troupe of "clowns" if their success forces a political reboot, with less focus on spin and media polish and a greater emphasis on real engagement with voters.Neil MacehiterCambridge

• Analysis of Ukip's success in has overlooked the simple clarity of purpose and direction that the party's very name encapsulates and conveys. This clearly appeals to the "Ronseal" generation, wanting politicians to label their tins clearly and then to do exactly what it says on them.

Liberal Democrats appear to write one thing and do the opposite (university fees), the Tories don't mean what they say ("all in it together") and Labour's tins are currently label-free. The message for all main parties is that the electorate like to know in simple terms what they are voting for. This suggests that Ed Miliband might do well to label his tins sooner rather than later, and in a way that communicates a left-leaning clarity of purpose, direction and political intent for the country, party and voters alike. Mick BeebyBristol